Some Travelling Music for the Weekend.

Bettye LaVette performs Reign Down O'er Me from Walter Smith on Vimeo.

Oregon and Portland Metro Profiles of Taxpayers Eligible for the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit.

With earned income credits likely to be included in an Obama stimulus package, I thought this would be a good time to post a profile of Oregon and Portland metro taxpayers eligible for the federal earned income tax credit.

(People who know me know that I have long said that, given the size of the EITC, it is as important as any rental housing subsidy program in providing additional income to families with children, and thus increasing housing affordability).

[CASH Oregon is the Portland Metro group formed several years ago to help coordinate EITC outreach efforts. Their website is HERE.]

Data is from Brookings Institution, which made estimates using data from the 2007 American Community Survey.

I compiled a side by side table HERE showing Oregon and the Portland metro area; it includes the Brookings profiles for Oregon and the Portland metro from which the side by side table was compiled. [Table comes first in the download, then the profiles].

Variables include number of children, adjusted gross income, education level, top 5 industry and jobs, race and ethnicity, amount of the EITC, age of tax filer, tenure of tax filer, and food stamp use of filer.

Oregon Highlights:

1. 298,000+ EITC eligible filers have a total household population of more than 816,000.
2. 57% of EITC eligible filers have an adjusted gross income of less than $15,000.
3. 32% of EITC eligible filers receive food stamps.
4. 38% of EITC eligible filers have two or more children.
5. 12% of EITC eligible filers are in the military.
6. 41% of EITC eligible filers would receive a credit of $2,000 or more.
7. Top 5 industry employers of EITC eligible filers are retail, health care, manufacturing, food service/accommodations, and construction.
8. 43% of EITC eligible filers have at least some college; 19% have an associate degree or higher.

Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals Decision on PDC Urban Renewal Case.

Oregonian story was in Tuesday paper HERE.

Text of final opinion from LUBA is HERE.

Donovan Senate Confirmation Hearing on Tuesday, January 13.

Senate Banking Committee will hold nomination hearing for HUD Secretary Designate Shaun Donovan on Tuesday January 13th, at 10 AM East Coast time.

Hearing page is HERE.

Walking man test

This is a test of walking man as an image in a blog post.